Fitting



Nov. 29, 1949 R. E. STORK ET Al.

FITTING Filed May 22, 1946 $TQR K OLSON NEYS INVENTORS RALPH E OSCAR A@K M ATTOR' Patented Nov. 29, 1949 FITTING Ralph E. Stork, Hohokus, N.J., and Oscar A. Olson, Scarsdale, N. Y.

Application May 22, 1946, Serial No. 671,594

l Claims.

invention relates to fittings and has for its object fittings of reatlyimproved construction. -Fittings of the union type, for example, areusually formed of three main parts, a female, a male and a nut. Thefemale part has an enlarged exteriorally threaded end portion. The malepart also has an enlarged exteriorally smooth-surfaced end portion,somewhat smaller in outside diameter than the outside diameter of theenlarged end portion of the female part. The enlarged end portion of themale part terminates in an annular shoulder. The nut is interiorallythreaded at one end and has a constricted annular end portion at theother end. To assembly he union, the enlarged end portion of the malepart is inserted in the enlarged end portion of the female part. lhe nutis mounted over the male part and the threaded end portion of the nut isscrewed onto the threaded portion of the female part until theconstricted annular end portion of the nut engages the shoulder of theenlarged end portion of the male part. Turnin of the nut is continueduntil th male and female parts are brought into tight en agement.

Two separate forms of seats are employed to provide a seal. One is theso-called gasket type of union, in which the enlarged end portion of thefemale part terminates an outer annular portion surrounding a recessedflat seat adapted to receive a gasket. The enlarged end of the male partterminates in an inner annular portion surrounded by recessed flat seat.The inner amiular portion of the male part is adapted to fit into theouter annular portion of the female part so that the two flat seats arejuxtaposed to one another and so that they may be brought intoengagement with the gasket. The out is turned on the threaded portion ofthe female part until a tight joint is obtained, This is a very commontype of construction but has the objection that the parts forming oradjacent to the seal are not easily cleaned. The outer annular portionof the female part is perpendicular to the recessed fiat seat; and theinner annular portion of the male part is perpendicular to the enlargedend portion. This construction results in what may be termed a sharpcircumferential corn-e1 wl'iich is difficult to clean, for that reasonthe union does not find favor under operatin conditions requiring a highdegree of cleanliness, such in the processing of milk and other foodproducts. After each of mill; is processed, it is customary to take the1 'on apart, remove the gasket, thoroughly clean male and female parts,insert a clean gasket in the female part, and reassemble the parts.

To overcome the disadvantages of the gasket type just described, abeve1-seat type of union has been proposed. The construction isessentially the same as that of the gasket type, except that theenlarged end portions of the male and female parts are provided withcomplementary bevelled seats which are usually ground in order to make atight fit. Thus, a recessed or internal bevelled seat provided at thefree end of the enlarged end portion of the female part and an external.bevelled seat is provided at the free end of the enlarged end portion ofthe male part. When the parts are assembled and the nut is screwed ontothe female part as before, the complementary bevel seats are broughtinto tight engagement with one another. While this construction permitsrelatively easy cleaning of the parts, it is open to the objection thatthe bevelled seats sometimes become damaged to such an extent that it isdifficult and often impossible to get a tight joint without a regrindingof the bevelled seats. Because leaks frequently occur for this reason,use of the bevel-seat type of union is frequently not permitted where apartial vacuum is to be maintained.

Investigation confirms our discovery that a fitting of the general typeunder consideration may be constructed in such a manner as always toassure a tight and non-leaking fit. In addition, the construction is onethat readily permits cleaning of the parts. The fitting is thereforeparticularly useful where fittings of the sanitary type are required.

In accordance with the invention, an inner annular recessed fiat seatand an outer annular recessed bevel seat are provided in the enlargedend portion of the female part, the bevel seat being adjacent to andfor-ward of the flat seat in an obtuse angle relationship to facilitatecleaning of the seats. The male part is provided with an inner annularexterior fiat seat and an outer exterior bevel seat on the enlarged endportion, the bevel seat being adjacent to and rearward of the flat seatin an obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the latterseats. The fiat seats and the bevel seats are juxtaposed to one anothegrespectively, when the parts and the out are assembled.

With a construction of this type, the fitting can be made to have adouble seal: one, by a gasket joint between the two flat faces; and,two, by a metal to joint between the two bevel seats.

Theseand other features of the invention will 3 be better understood byreferring to the accompanying drawing, taken in conjunction with thefollowing description, in which- Fig. l is a cross-sectional view inpart along the longitudinal and transverse axes of a tightly assembledfitting of the union type, illustrative of a practice of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to that of Fig. 1 butshowing the fitting in a loosely assembled condition; and

3 is a perspective exploded view of the female, gasket and male parts ofthe fitting of the preceding figures.

The fitting shown is in the form of a union comprising a female part ID,a gasket II, a male part l2, and a nut I3. The female part contains theusual enlarged exteriorally threaded end portion I5. An inner annularrecessed fiat seat I1 is provided in the enlarged end portion. An outerannular recessed bevel seat I8 is also provided in the enlarged endportion, the bevel seat being adjacent to and forward of the fiatseat inan obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seats. Theoutside diameter and circumference of the flat seat in effect become theinside diameter and circumference, respectively, of the bevel seat.

The male part is also provided with the usual enlarged smooth-surfacedend portion I9 and annular shoulder 26. An inner annular exterior flatseat 2| is provided on the enlarged end portion. An outer annularexterior bevel seat 22 is also provided on the enlarged portion, thebevel seat being adjacent to and rearward of the fiat seat in an obtuseangle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seat.

As more particularly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, flat seats l1 and 2| andbevel seats l8 and 22 are juxtaposed to one another when the parts areinterfitted. The bevel seats have the same pitch, for example 45 to thehorizontal. As better shown in Fig. 2, the outside diameter 24 ofannular fiat seat I! in the female part is smaller than the outsidediameter 25 of annular fiat seat 2| on the male part. When, as shown inFig. 1, bevel seats l8 and 22 are in engagement with one another, aspace or gap 21 is provided between flat faces ll and 2|. This space isof predetermined depth to accommodate gasket H, which has apredetermined thickness. The depth of the space and the thickness of thegasket are co-related so that when nut l3, with its annular shoulder 29in engagement with annular shoulder 20, is tightly screwed onto thethreaded portion of the female part, the bevel seats are brought intotight engagement with each other as the flat seats are also brought intotight engagement with the gasket to assure a double seal.

To assemble the fitting, gasket II is placed on fiat seat H in thefemale part. The enlarged end portion of the male member is then placedover the gasket so as to bring fiat seat 2| in engagement therewith. Nutl3 is then screwed onto the threaded portion of the female part. Annularshoulder 29 of the nut engages annular shoulder 20 of the male part andtherefore moves the male and female parts into tighter engagement withone another as the nut is tightly screwed onto the female part. Gaskettends to be compressed and when a tight seal is obtained, in thepreferred practice, bevel seats I8 and 22 are also brought into tightengagement. When the fitting is used in this manner, a double seal isassured. This double seal feature is especially adaptable to pipe lineswhich are used under partial vacuum and which are assembled anddisasssembled regularly. The bevel seats are preferably ground in orderto make a close metal to metal joint or seal. This arrangement is alsoassurance that the pipes in which the fitting is employed will alwayshave the same length each time the assembly is made.

If the gasket should become defective for any reason, the bevel seal canbe relied upon to maintain a tight joint, at least temporarily, so thatoperations do not have to be halted to replace the gasket. The obtuseangle provided by adjacent fiat and bevel seats not only makes it easierto clean the seats but it facilitates placement of the gasket. Thedouble seal arrangement also facilitates better alignment of the partsin making a union.

The double seal is assurance or compensation for irregularities inmachined metal seats that occur in use. Other fittings have to be groundto insure a tight fit. Such a fitting, in order to retain the purposefor which intended, must be maintained by accurate and frequentgrinding, which is a substantial maintenance cost. If such irregularityoccurs to the machined or ground bevel seats of the fitting of theinvention, the gasket between the flat seats can be relied upon tomaintain a tight fit, at least temporarily, until a convenient time isfound to repair the bevel seat or seats.

While the invention is illustrated as it applies to a union, it will beclear to those skilled in this art that the practice of the invention isapplicable to numerous other fittings, such as couplings, tees, crosses,elbows, valves, other similar types of fittings, etc. With the partsfashioned in the manner shown, a tight seal is assured. it will also beclear that the fiat and bevel seats may be reversed. For example, theenlarged end of the male part may have its flat and bevel seats formedas in the enlarged end of the female part; and the enlarged end of thefemale part may have its flat and bevel seats formed as on the enlargedend of the male part. With such an arrangement, the double seal featurecould still be maintained.

We claim:

1. In a fitting of the type described containin interfltting female andmale parts held together by a nut, the improvement comprising an innerannular recessed flat seat and an outer annular recessed bevel seat inthe enlarged end portion of the female part, the bevel seat beingadjacent to and forward of the flat seat in an obtuse angle relationshipto facilitate cleaning of the seats, an inner annular exterior fiat seatand an outer annular exterior bevel seat on the enlarged end portion ofthe male part, the latter bevel seat being adjacent to and rearward ofthe latter flat seat in an obtuse angle relationship to facilitatecleaning of the seats, said fiat seats being juxtaposed to One anotherand said bevel seats being juxtaposed to one another when the parts andnut are assembled so that when the bevel seats are in engagement withone another a space is provided between the flat seats, and a gasket insaid space, the depth of the space and the thickof the gasket being soco-related that when the bevel seats are brought into tight engagementwith each other the flat seats are also brought into tight engagementwith the gasket to assure a double seal.

2. In a fitting of the type described containing interfitting female andmale parts held together by a nut, the improvement comprising an innerannular recessed flat seat adapted to receive a gasket and an outerannular recessed bevel seat in the enlarged end portion of the femalepart, the bevel seat being adjacent to and forward of the fiat seat inan obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seats, aninner annular exterior fiat seat and an outer annular exterior bevelseat on the enlarged end portion of the male part, the latter bevel seatbeing adjacent to and rearward of the latter flat seat in an obtuseangle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seats, said fiat seatsbeing juxtaposed to one another and said bevel seats being juxtaposed toone another when the parts are interfitted and drawn together by the nutto bring the flat seats into tight engagement with the gasket and thebevel seats into tight engagement with each other.

3. In a fitting of the type described containing interfitting female andmale parts held together by a nut, the improvement comprising an innerannular recessed fiat seat adapted to receive a gasket of predeterminedthickness and an outer annular recessed bevel seat in the enlarged endportion of the female part, the bevel seat being adjacent to and forwardof the flat seat in an obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaningof the seats, an inner annular exterior flat seat and an outer annularexterior bevel seat on the enlarged end portion of the male part, thelatter bevel seat being adjacent to and rearward of the latter fiat seatin an obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seats,said fiat seats being juxtaposed to one another and said bevel seatsbeing juxtaposed to one another when the parts are interfitted, theoutside diameter of the flat seat in the female part being smaller thanthe outside diameter of the flat seat on the male part to keep the bevelseats out of contact with each other before the fiat seats are broughtinto tight engagement with the gasket.

4. In a fitting of the type described containing interfitting female andmale parts held together by a nut, th improvement comprising an innerannular recessed fiat seat adapted to receive a gasket of predeterminedthickness and an outer annular recessed bevel seat in the enlarged endportion of the female part, the bevel seat being adjacent to and forwardof the flat seat in an obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaningof the seats, an inner annular exterior flat seat and an outer annularexterior bevel seat on the enlarged end portion of the male part, thelatter bevel seat being adjacent to and rearward of the latter flat seatin an obtuse angle relationship to facilitate cleaning of the seats,said flat seats being juxtaposed to one another and said bevel seatshaving the same pitch and being juxtaposed to one another when the partsare interfitted, the outside diameter of the flat seat on the male partbeing sufficiently larger than the outside diameter of the flat seat inthe female part to provide a space of predetermined depth to accommodatethe gasket when the bevel seats are brought into engagement with eachother and when the fiat seats are brought into tight engagement with thegasket to assure a double seal.

RALPH E. STORK. OSCAR A. OLSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

